Up-regulation of p27Kip1 correlates inversely with anchorage-independent growth of human cancer cell lines.

We examined the correlation between anchorage-independent growth and cell cycle-related molecules using 39 human cancer cell lines. They consisted of lung-, colon-, stomach-, breast-, ovarian-, brain-, renal- and melanoma-derived cell lines. Their anchorage-independent growth ability varied, but was not clearly related to the tissue of origin. There was a tendency for the levels of cyclin D1, cyclin E, cyclin A, p27, and p21 to show a tissue-dependent expression pattern. Statistical analysis revealed an inverse correlation of the p27 level with anchorage-independent growth (r=-0.456, P<0.01). Thus, the regulation of p27 is suggested to be linked to the anchorage independence of human cancer cells.